NCLB Law Needs Work, Legislators Assert

Report by State Legislatures' Group Urges More Flexibility

Washington

The federal government has taken control of state education systems, and state leaders want them back, legislators around the country say.

Through the No Child Left Behind Act, Congress and the U.S. Department of Education have forced state lawmakers to expand their testing systems, alter the ways they reward and punish schools, and spend their states' own money on federal mandates, the National Conference of State Legislatures contends in a report issued Wednesday.

To address the situation, the 76-page report says, Washington should give states broader authority to define student-achievement goals and more latitude to devise the strategies to help...